“Go ahead, Cornelius, you can cry”

Reporter Sean O’Sullivan wrote this in 2000 when “Fight Club” coming out on video, taking a look into all the Delaware references, etc.

“Fight Club” fans, enjoy…

The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club.

The second rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club.

And, apparently, the last rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Delaware.

The Brad Pitt – Edward Norton film, which played at theaters in the fall and is set to be released on video today, was originally supposed to be set right here in Wilmington.

“They even talked about shooting on location in Delaware,” said Chuck Palahniuk, author of the novel “Fight Club.”

The film, directed by David Fincher, who also did Alien 3, Seven and The Game, is a dark comedy/drama about a group of men, feeling emasculated by modern society, who turn to bare knuckle combat and violence to feel alive.

Sometime before the script went before the cameras, however, filmmakers decided to
drop all overt references to Wilmington and film it elsewhere, setting the movie in a city with no name.

The careful viewer, however, will still catch one clear Delaware reference that made it to the final cut.

At one point, Norton is talking to Pitt about how fight clubs are springing up all over and he mentions specifically, “Delaware City, New Castle and Pennsville.”

Later the city with no name is identified as the home to a number of credit card companies.

Palahniuk said it was the idea of scriptwriter Jim Uhls and director David Fincher to set the film in Wilmington, because of its tie to the credit card industry, something which becomes central to the plot, when the characters decide to remake society by zeroing out all credit debt with a bombing campaign.

Lawyers at Fox, however, feared that Wilmington and its businesses would not appreciate the plot and recommended references to the city be dropped.

The attack on credit card companies was a change from the novel, which was set in a no name city that Palahniuk said was loosely modeled on his hometown of Seattle.

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie two stars. He said the film “is a thrill ride masquerading as philosophy – the kind of ride where some people puke and others can’t wait to get on again.”

The New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin, however, praised the movie, calling it “visionary and disturbing.”

According to Daily Variety, the film was a disappointment domestically.

Fight Club cost an estimated $111 million to make and only took in about $37 million domestically.

However, it did end up covering its costs through overseas box office, taking in $71.4 million, meaning it will at least break even, according to Daily Variety.

In the original script, Wilmington is mentioned several times. In one scene Edward Norton’s character is arguing with his credit card company and says, “Look, can I just come down in person? I live here – in Wilmington. Yes, all my credit cards have main headquarters here. No? Why not?”

The city is mentioned again when Norton first meets Brad Pitt’s character, and finds out they both live in Wilmington.

Ultimately, however, these references and others were dropped because of the “legal stuff,” said Palahniuk.

Several lawsuits have been filed against film companies in recent years, like one against Oliver Stone for his film Natural Born Killers, charging the films with inspiring real-life violence.

Wilmington City Council President James Baker said he was disappointed filmmakers did not come to Delaware, despite the film’s controversial plotline – which also involved one scene of fight club members threatening a city official.

“Movies are movies,” he said. “People should understand that they are fantasy.”

“I just think we are missing a great opportunity … that is a big, clean industry we could use,” said Baker, adding Wilmington’s film office is not fully functioning and Delaware’s film office is only part-time. “We should really make an effort to get this industry to come to Delaware. The amount of money involved is just astronomical.”

Recently, when the film “Runaway Bride” shot in the nearby Eastern Shore town of Berlin, Md., state officials estimated the production pumped $20 million into the area.

Others were, seemingly, not as disappointed that Wilmington missed this opportunity.

Officials with credit card companies, that employ 33,000 locally and contribute nearly $84 million to the state economy from the franchise tax alone, declined comment.

Jeff Unkle, a vice president and spokesman for First USA, however, did dismiss the plot, outlined in the film, that the credit card debt of everyone in the nation could be eliminated by blowing up a few buildings.

“We are totally redundant and backed up,” he said, adding the company has an emergency plan that would keep the business up and running and all credit and debt accounted for in a crisis.

Wilmington Mayor James Sills, meanwhile, followed the credit card companies’ lead and decided to follow rule one and two of Fight Club.

“None of us have seen it and the mayor can not comment on something he hasn’t seen,” said Vici Douglas, acting press secretary for Sills.

In other words, the mayor will not talk about Fight Club.

About Ryan Cormier

News Journal features reporter Ryan Cormier throws everything pop culture into a blender and hits frappe. Check out his take on music, movies, celebrities and everything in between. It's what you need to know and a lot more stuff you really don't. Join him on Twitter and Facebook.

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